GREEN BAY – An entrepreneur on the cusp of launching a new athletic performance product he pitched to the NFL has been charged with theft for depositing and not returning a $141,000 check Fleet Farm sent his company erroneously.

David C. Troup, 50, of the town of Scott, was charged Nov. 19 in Brown County Circuit Court with one count of theft of movable property worth more than $100,000. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 12.5 years in prison and a $25,000 fine. He is scheduled to make an initial court appearance on Dec. 18.

In recent years, Troup made waves with Xensr Air, a device that collected telemetry data for action sports athletes that Sports Illustrated wrote up in 2016. In 2017, Xensr shifted from hardware to software and scored a hit for the Apple Watch with Xensr Sessions, which Apple CEO Tim Cook featured in an Apple keynote address.

Earlier this year, the NFL selected his newest venture, Konect Sports, as one of nine companies to vie for $50,000 in funding through its annual First and Pitch competition. The Konect system enables coaches and athletes to collect reaction and speed data from training drills at a much more affordable price than any similar product presently on the market.

The period Troup spent developing Konect coincides with the time that Fleet Farm inadvertently sent one of Troup's companies, DMI Studios, checks for $49,494 and $141,027.

According to the criminal complaint, DMI Studios sent the $49,494 check back to Fleet Farm, but court records indicate DMI cashed the $141,000 check on May 1.

Fleet Farm and its attorney, Crystal Abbey, made several attempts to contact Troup and DMI Studios between June 15 and Aug. 15 without success. In August, it referred the incident to the Green Bay Police Department for investigation. Abbey and Fleet Farm declined to comment on the incident.

Officers spent much of August and early September contacting DMI employees who directed them to Troup. He initially told officers the check was being returned to Fleet Farm by mail, the complaint states.

No check was received.

On Sept. 10, Abbey told investigators Troup agreed to pay $100,000 by check that week and the remainder another two or three weeks later. She also asked police to seek criminal charges against the company because of how long it took to get the money back.

"Troup has continued to stall and make excuses as to why the money hasn't been refunded," Abbey told officers.

Officers went to Troup's offices on Lombardi Avenue on Nov. 1 to interview him about the incident. He told them the $141,000 check had been deposited and that he had used the funds to pay off debts, the complaint states.

At the time, he told investigators he was trying to shift funds around to be able to pay Fleet Farm back in a lump sum.

By Nov. 19, Fleet Farm had not received any payment and the district attorney's office filed the felony charge against Troup.

When first contacted by a reporter last week, Troup denied knowledge of the criminal charge. He agreed on Friday to discuss the case, but has not made himself available for an interview.

Xensr's parent company, Epicsessions LLC, which records show was dissolved in December 2016, also owes $26,710 to U-Blox America for hardware components ordered in 2016, according to a judgment issued in circuit court in 2017.